K A N T I S M. 



tnents of it to others. «' I always," faid he, « vahicd the 

 b'jfincfs of inftrufting of young people ; but I could never 

 level myfelf to their infant capacities." Having aftcd in the 

 capacity of a tutor for nine years, he returned to Konigfterg, 

 Tind maintamcd himfelf by private inllruftion, tiiat lie niiglit 

 'he ready to embrace the firft opportunity that offered of 

 'being introduced to a higher fphcre of aftion in the uni- 

 verfity. In 1746, at the age of twenty-two, he began his 

 literary career with a fmall work, intitlod, " Tlioughts on 

 "the Ellimation of the Animal Powers, with Striftnres on 

 ■the Proofs advanced by Leibnitz and other Mathematicians 

 on this Point ; to which are annexed, various Refle£tions on 

 'the Powers of Bodies in general." In 1754, he publiflied 

 "" An Examination of the Pri/e Qucflion of the Berlin So- 

 ciety, — Whether the Earth, in turning round iti Axis, by 

 which the Succefiion of Day and Night was produced, had 

 undergone any Change fince its Origin ? What could be 

 the Caiifes of it; and how we could be alTiired of it?" 

 This work acquired him great reputation as a philofophcr, 

 and paved the way to liis long-defired promotion to a degree 

 in the univerfity. In the year 17JJ, he was chofen maiccr 

 of arts, and entered immediately upon the talk of lecturing, 

 Xvhich he performed to his own fatisfaftion, and the enthu- 

 fiaftic approbation of a very crowded audience. During the 

 fpace of (iiteen years, which he continued in this office, lie 

 publilhed a variety of trafts on the abftrufe branches of 

 ■fcience. Among thefe may be mentioned, i. "An uni- 

 Verfal Natural Hillary and Theory of the Heavens, or an 

 "Effay on the Conllitution and mechanical Struc'ture of the 

 v.'hole Globe, according to the Newtonian Syflcm." On 

 this fubjedl his biographer fays, " that the juftncfs of Kant's 

 "theory was, thirty years afterwards, evinced by the prnc- 

 "tical inveftigation of Herfchel." 2. " Princi;norum pri- 

 morum Cognitionis Metaphyfic32 r.-iva Dihicidatio." 3. In 

 1758, he gave the world " New Principles of Motion and 

 Rell, and tlse Refults conneOAed with them in the Funda- 

 mentaU of Natural Philofophy." This work excited very 

 much notice, and was after^vards iufsrted more at large in 

 his later writings. 4. In 1759, he publifhcd " Confidera- 

 tions on Optimifm." And, 5. In 1763, " The only pof. 

 fibie Grounds for a Demonflration of the Deity." In the 

 lad mentioned work, the author wiflied to (licw that with- 

 out prefuppofmg the independent exiiiciicc of ourlelves, or 

 that of other fpirits, fomething is pofiible ; and on that 

 proof alone refts the grounds by wliich to dcmonflrate tlie 

 exifteiice of a Deity. This piece contributed very much to 

 eftablilh his literary charader. The lirlt traces of that 

 metaphyfical fyftcm, which ha? given fuch celebrity to t!ie 

 name of Kant, aie to be found in his inaugural differtation, 

 " De Mundi fenfibilis alqiie inteiligibilis Fornia ct Prin- 

 cipiis," which was written in tlie year 1770, when he was 

 appointed to a profefforial chair in the univerfity of Ko- 

 nigfberg. He had, previouily to this, had offers of prefer- 

 ment, which he declined. His reputation and literary cha- 

 rafter had been long known to the PruiTian monarch, who 

 Tiad made him repeated offers of a profeflorlhip in the nni- 

 vcrfities of Jena, Eriangen, Mitau, ar.d Halle; and alfo to 

 have invefled him with tlic character of privy counfcllor. 

 He declined all thefc honours, from an attachment to his 

 native place. He wiflied to labour and to be' ufcful ou the 

 fpot where lie liad received his phyfical and mental exiftence ; 

 and it was not till March 1770 th.it the. metaphyfical de- 

 partment at Konigfbcrg became varant, which was immedi- 

 ately bellowed upon hisn. The fituation required his whole 

 attention to metaphyfical fubjefls, and his Succeeding pub- 

 lications were almoit entirely of this nature. He purfued 

 ^his lludv with the moll unr; mittin,-j ardour, and entered 

 Vol. XIX, 



into all the depths of metaphyfical ftihtlety, in order to nti« 

 fold the rational powers of man, and deduce from thence hi» 

 moral duties. It was not till the year -1781, that the full 

 developement of the principles of lits fyftcm appeared in hi» 

 " Review of pure Reafon."- The German title of this 

 work is " Critik der reinen vernunft ;" and the fyftem it 

 contains is commonly known under th.e name of the " Cri- 

 tical Philofopliy," This celebrated work, on which we 

 fnall Ihortly enlarge, was nearly fix years pubhflied before its 

 importance was at all underllood ; and it is perhaps one of 

 the mod linking inllances of the revcrfes of literary fortune, 

 that the bookfeller was about to deftroy the coiiies for 

 wallc paper, when a fudden demand required and cxhauftcd 

 rapidly three new editions. The doftrine was foon pre- 

 fented, under innumerable forms, by a multitude of com- 

 mentators ; among the earlieft and moft diftinguiflied of 

 whom were Rcihold, the fon-in-law of Wieland, and the 

 mathematician Scliultz. For a confiderable time the fyllem 

 of Kant had, in almoft every philofophcr of Germany, 

 either an avowed partifan or determinrd antagonift. In his 

 " Criticifm of pure Reafon," he maintained thrit the doc- 

 trine of materialifm was limited by external objcfts ; and 

 that any pretended perception of things in thc;nl'elvcs, and 

 independent of a fciifual reprcfentation, was utterly impof- 

 fihle. This publication, which fukjcifled him to much mif- 

 reprefentation, occafionc-d a fecond part in 17SJ, intitlcd, 

 " Prolegom.ena for future Metaphyfics, which arc to be 

 confidered as a Science." In this he illuflrated his former 

 doArine, and entirely abllrafted from the definition of meta- 

 phyfics any tiling fupernatural. In 17S6, he was appointed 

 reftor of the univerfity, an office to which he was called a 

 fecond time in 17SS; and in a few months after, he was 

 advanced lo be fenior of the philofophical faculty. .About 

 the year 179S, he took leave of the public as an author, and 

 foon after gave up all his official lituations ; and, in confe- 

 quence of increafing infirmities, he retired into an almoft 

 perfect folitude, having been a writer fixty years, and hav. 

 ing written more than fixty works. During the laft ten 

 years of his hfe, his corporeal and mental decay wai'ilrik- 

 ingly and painfully vifible to his friends : but in nothing did 

 the decay of nature difcover itfclf fo clearly as in his pcrfeft 

 loU of memory. An intimate friend, who had been a be- 

 loved fcliolar alfo, and who had for many years enjoyed the 

 pleafurc of his I'ociety, entered his room a few nioiilHs be- 

 fore his deceafe, and with die freedom of a friend, going 

 up to him, embraced him with a fort of filial rcvereiice. 

 Kant, however, declared that he had not the pleafure of 

 knowing him. He ufcd every means in his power to bring 

 the idea of himfelf frefii in his mind ; but it was all in vain : 

 " the full of his genius was fet ; the vapour which over- 

 fprcad the horizon of his foul, darkened every objtfft pad 

 and preient." He died on the 12th of February 1S04. 

 The character of M. Kant called for uiiivcrfal refpeit and 

 admiration ; and during his life he received from the leariiei 

 throughout Germany, and from others in dillant countries, 

 marks of ede'em bordering upon adoration. His principles 

 were made the fubjeft of univeri'al invefiigatioVi, and ob- 

 tained him a multitude of 7ealous ndlierentsl In the unl- 

 vf riiiies of Jena, Halle, Goltingcn, Eriangen, &c. Iei1«rc.<: 

 Mere delivered on his fyllem ; and books were written bv 

 hi'^ advocates, to illnllrate and defend his doflrincs. Pro- 

 feffors were even fent, at the reque.1 tind expfnce of princes 

 and crowned heads, t- learn more migutely, by a perfon'al 

 confei-ence with him, \\hat had not been fuffic'iently eluci- 

 dated in his books. His leftnres were conflantly crowdfH 

 by young perfou.^ ; and, not uufrequcntly, perfons far ad.^ 

 vartced in vcarJ and knowledge rarac tof fit, as difcipiei!. ftt 



